1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stator and more specifically to a stator preferably for use in a rotary electric machine such as, for example, a motor or a generator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Coils of an armature are typically formed by winding lead wires on the teeth of an iron core. In this method, difficulties are often involved in winding the lead wires because the adjoining teeth or the umbrellas formed at the tip ends of the teeth become obstacles. These difficulties become severe if an attempt is made to increase the space factor of the coils or if the winding speed is increased in order to rapidly wind the lead wires. As a solution to this problem, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-312288 discloses a method in which lead wires are wound on an insulator and then the insulator provided with coils is fitted to the teeth having no umbrella.
However, when a motor is actually manufactured using the method of Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-312288, a shortcoming is encountered. In a motor manufactured using the method of Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-312288, the task of fitting the insulator to the teeth is somewhat difficult while the task of winding the lead wires on the insulator as a single body is relatively easy. Additionally, the insulator may be damaged unless the task of fitting the insulator to the teeth is performed with care. The lead wires are wound on the insulator after the insulator is inserted into and stably supported on a jig. However, it is often difficult to remove the insulator from the jig, thereby worsening the workability.